How Can Automotive Brands Stay Enchanting at Christmas?
During the Christmas period, automotive brands go all out to capture the spirit, bringing a seasonal sparkle to their marketing. The challenge, however, comes from keeping the industry relevant during a time filled with Christmas-fuelled consumerism. For most people, unwrapping a car on Christmas Day is just a distant fantasy. But through a blend of nostalgia and storytelling, car brands can make themselves impossible to miss - here’s how they currently do it and how there is an opportunity for the world of experiential marketing.
Transforming Cars into Heartwarming Stories
The popular way for any brand to advertise during the festive season is by tapping into the togetherness of Christmas. But for automotive especially, focusing less on horsepower and more on bringing families together with a meaningful journey is the key to being remembered. Cars can be presented as part of a family during a time when travelling to distant loved ones is necessary for many. This concept is popularly integrated into TV adverts and billboards. Subaru famously did a Christmas TV campaign with Make a Wish Foundation, with a heartfelt story encouraging people to give while receiving, which perfectly encapsulates what the season is all about. The problem that presents is the current predictability of Christmas TV adverts, as the repetition creates a short-term connection to the brand rather than long-term relevance, and this way of advertising is quickly starting to feel overdone.
Where the Experience Lies: Some Key-Playing Elements
Emotional Connection
Holidays are an inherently time filled with nostalgia and a sense of community. For automotive brands, the first strategic priority should be to create experiences that tap into these emotions, transforming a simple brand interaction into something meaningful.
2. Interactive Experiences
The festive season also encourages exploration and sensory engagement, making experiential marketing highly effective. Automotive brands can design activations that allow consumers to interact directly with vehicles in holiday-themed environments. This promotes engagement in ways that go beyond typical car displays.
3. Personalisation and Exclusivity
At Christmas, consumers are drawn to unique experiences. Automotive brands can elevate their marketing by offering personalised, exclusive experiences that make consumers feel special and valued. Christmas is about making people feel special, and automotive brands are able to lead by example.
4. Community and Social Good
The spirit of the holiday season also includes a focus on giving back, and many customers respond well to brands that contribute to their communities. Automotive brands can use tactical marketing to highlight their role in local communities, aligning themselves with causes that resonate with their audience.
Social Sharing and Digital Integration
Marketing campaigns must be shareable and digitally integrated, especially during the holiday season when people are more likely to share special moments with friends and family. In a time where human connection is hugely supported by technology, automotive brands should encourage social sharing to amplify the impact of their holiday experiences.
Experiential Marketing is the Key to Festive Relevance
As the holiday season becomes increasingly saturated with ads across every industry, the automotive industry strives to move beyond the scope with their advertising. There’s no reason that luxury brands couldn’t create a whole journey for consumers and their families. Brands like Land Rover and Mercedes have both similarly hosted Artic driving events in select winter locations, adding the challenge of a snowy terrain to showcase the capabilities of their cars in a fun way. With hot chocolate and fireside lounges at the beginning and end of a drive, these brands transform an ordinary test drive into an adventure, making the brand unforgettable in the process. Furthermore, there lies many opportunities to take inspiration from this and create multi-day road trips, allowing families to explore and create memories on a winter holiday, all while getting the feel for the benefits of a new car. After all, this wonderful season is all about creating wholesome memories, and that is exactly what experiential is designed to do, all while offering the best journey to relevance.
The Final Lap
During this heartwarming season, cars play a very large and crucial part in our lives. They truly bring the Christmas experience and families together. They sell the promise of adventure, connecting one destination to another, presenting memories on each side. With experiential marketing, we move beyond the 2D storytelling, and the only way to truly embody what an automotive brand has to offer is by presenting a new and improved reality to consumers. This is truly the future for festive marketing and the opportunities are endless.